Determination
by Demonssmith
Summary: They say that the world owes us nothing, and that it is we whom must give back to it in order to truly live in this world. If so, why do the privileged still gain favor? Why do those whom deserve fame and fortune never gain it? This is the story of Nastasia Fedchenko and her little brother Rodion who seek answers to questions raised by this powerful machine, the Infinite Stratos


This is my first I.S. fanfiction and it centers on a few OC's of mine. I wanted to take a different approach to Infinite Stratos and show a different point of view for the events of that world, throwing in some political scandals, plot twists, and some new takes on the I.S. systems themselves, rather than the stale old "which set of tits is Ichika going to bump into this time?" plots that seem to dominate the main storyline.

Mind you I recognize that it is an Ecchi series so don't worry about lack of tit flashings or things like that. I just wanted to also include a deeper story aspect to it.

It also answers the question of those other countries with representative cadets who just couldn't afford a personalized machine for their student.

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape or form own the series Infinite Stratos, and hope to in any way gain revenue from this work. It is purely fanmade for the viewing pleasure (or displeasure depending on how people like it) of the various fans of Infinite Stratos out there._

_I know I have a bad habit of taking stories down a few weeks after I write them, but I tend to get a little irritated at my own works after a while. _I'll try and keep this up permanently, that is if people like it.

_Determination: An Infinite Stratos fiction_

_Prologue: Cold fingers, warm hearts_

"Speaking English"

"(Speaking native language)"

Nastasia Fedchenko could feel the crunching of the late November Russian snow through her boots. She was slowly making her way down the streets of Moscow to her apartment in the southeast area of Kapotnya. Blocking out the usual stench of the oil refineries, she slogged on through the thick downpour of late-night snowfall which was increasing in density. Feeling the bitter cold wind she pulled her worn, old scarf closer in hopes of warding off the biting wind. She had been used to the cold, having endured fifteen winters of it in her life, but for some reason the cold felt even more harsh this particular night. It might have been because of the lack of covering for her fingers on her gloves, or it might have been because of her coat's various holes and tears. But for some reason, none of those seemed to hang around in her mind.

It was probably the little folder she held under her arm that made it feel all the colder; the little folder that held the response to her application to I.S. academy, an application that bore a massive red "ОТКАЗАНО" stamp on its cover. She sighed deeply, letting her breath warm the scarf temporarily; it was the third time this year she failed to get accepted. Every single time they had some different excuse to not accept her, even though she had more raw talent than any other potential cadet there. Sure, she wasn't the only one rejected, only ten out of one thousand applicants were accepted and many young girls were sent home with the same folder as her, but Nastasia couldn't help but notice that out of all those who had been accepted only a few of them had any actual talent to speak of.

Most were simply rich little girls who just so happened to have the right parents. Those who had the money tended to get in more than those without, regardless of actual talent. It was something that infuriated Nastasia to no end. But the most maddening was not the rich little pompous privileged brats, but the Instructor herself, whom had this air of superiority. Like she and all her kind were thought to be the cream of the crop and that little slum rats like Nastasia should have stayed in the slums where they belonged.

Nastasia kicked the nearest street lamp full force and was met with nothing more than a spiking pain in her foot and a small pile of snow on her head. She slightly regretted kicking the lamp, but did not show it. She just kept walking on, albeit with a small limp, but walked on nonetheless. It wasn't like she was perfect, she admitted that she missed at least two targets, but that was no reason to reject her even before she fought the instructor! It was part of the test after all! How could she prove herself without being given the chance?

It also struck her as odd that no matter how many times she filled out the application form, she always seemed to be assigned to that same bitch. It wasn't because of alphabetical order since Nastasia was thrown in with other girls with names like Klementina and Valeriya. The application had no organization structure aside from random names and random instructors. Nastasia might have been happier with just alphabetically structured facilities. Because then she could have cursed being born with her name, rather than cursing her complete and absolute shitty luck. If she wanted to apply again she would have to do it in January before the term started.

I.S. Academy was a very peculiar school where girls went to learn about the I.S. system, but that in itself was a bit of a contradiction since even the instructors didn't know half of what they were presenting to their students. The I.S. was the biggest mystery the world had ever seen, Invented by the one and only Tabane Shinonono, the eccentric and self-proclaimed super genius behind electronic bunny ears. When she first saw Tabane on the news, Nastasia was skeptical of this so called "super genius" how could someone so carefree invent something so complex and completely outstanding as the I.S.? But after trying it out for the first time she decided that how it worked didn't matter, just that it did and she could pilot it relatively well for someone with no official training. She'd leave the inner workings and mysteries to her little brother.

Climbing up the Icy steps to her apartment building Nastasia almost slipped but found her footing. Hitting the door button in almost punch-like fashion she waited for the buzzer to free her from the cold hell. Finally hearing the sound she wanted, she burst in and slammed the door shut behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief as the warm heated air of her shitty apartment building filled her body.

"(Hey there hon,)" Spoke the fat landlady from behind the counter "(Some mail came in for your brother,)" she said gesturing to Nastasia's mailbox on the wall behind her, "(You want it now, or should I give it to you later?)"

"(No that's okay I'll take it to him)" said Nastasia with a slightly bitter tone, something the landlady picked up on

"(You get rejected again hon?) Sighed the owner, giving Nastasia the envelope from under the glass. "(I keep telling you; take it to the higher ups. They know what to do about it hon)"

"(Yeah, right)" scoffed Nastasia "(Before or after they're having tea with the president?)" The landlady chuckled a bit, and gave her a reassuring smile

"(Don't worry, things will eventually turn around, I've seen you fly and you're damn good just like your dad.)" Nastasia couldn't help but smile a bit at her landlady's words, but then she realized the worst part of her getting denied.

She had to tell Rodion about it.

She was sure he wouldn't be angry; he never was. But she absolutely hated disappointing her little brother. It was him and his Ideals that drove her to even consider I.S. Academy. With her heart slightly tanking she made her way up the steps to her old shabby apartment door. Number 513 wasn't horrible, but it definitely wasn't central Moscow material. Even so it was better living in Moscow's Kapotnya than the other regions of some other cities they had lived in the past.

Entering her apartment she saw her brother on the couch in his pajamas. He seemed to be dawdling through the last few minutes of prime-time television while shoving his nose into a book with a spine almost as thick as his skinny frame. He looked up with an expecting smile at Nastasia who smiled glumly back. Seeing this, his face fell a bit and asked the same question.

"(You got turned down huh?)"

"(Yep,)" she replied a bit icily, not towards him but towards the entire situation "(Looks like we're gonna have to wait till mid-winter to try again, sorry Rodey)" she added sincerely before flopping the folder on the kitchen counter. "(By the way, Annie said you've got some mail)"

Rodion nearly jumped out of his skin at this. Like some rabid and starving animal he flew at the small letter and tore it open with his teeth without even dropping his book. Spitting out the flecks of envelope, he opened the letter.

"(Is this?)" He read through the contents silently before frowning and tearing it apart. Nastasia looked on in bewilderment as he sat back on the couch and returned to his book. she took a couple of minutes to take off her coat, scarf and put her brown hair into a small ponytail before picking parts of the two pieces of shredded paper. "(They're taking off our social security pensions because of the new age requirements)" he answered for her. To which she sighed even more deeply, today was just turning out to be one bad thing after another.

"(Perfect timing too,)" she gazed out the window at the oil refineries just outside. The wind had begun to pick back up and snow was whizzing by in the streetlamp's light. "(Just as soon as winter's about to hit)" The TV announced that the late night news was up next and Nastasia took that as cue to start up some dinner. Pulling out a can of Beef stew and two bowls she called to her brother from over her shoulder "(hey, could you turn up the TV a bit?)" her brother nodded and twisted the dial up a few notches so that it echoed throughout the apartment.

"(By the way…)" she continued as she pulled out various pots and pans from beneath the sink, "(you looked rather excited about the letter at first. What were you expecting?)"

"(oh, I wrote a letter to Tabane Shinonono a while back asking for some research advice and stuff like that, cause of the I.S. you know,)" He said holding up his thick book on theoretical Nano-bot quantum mechanics. She nodded smiling a bit again.

"(You get a new book too?)" She asked stirring up more of the edible glop that was to be their dinner for the night.

"(Yep, borrowed it from the central library!)" he said cheerfully "(well to be more specific, Annie got it for me while she was out, It's about the relationship between Nano-machines and their effect on the quantum physics of modern day…)" he was cut short by the chiming of the Local news broadcast's opening to which he turned back to "(Well the rest of it's stuff you wouldn't understand much of.)"

"(It's okay, I still like to hear you talk about it, it'll certainly help me out on the written parts of the I.S. exam)" It was true, she wouldn't have even made it to the practical application section of the exam without passing the written portion of it. She felt slightly ashamed that she was only repeating what her brother had told her on it. But he didn't mind, he was still quite mature for being only eleven, and it was for this very purpose that she even entered the I.S. exam in the first place. He wanted to wrap his big brain around every possible bit of info he could about the I.S. and Its inner workings. Of course that knowledge was limited, so he was forced to pick up things on theoretical sciences and stuff like that.

"(We start off this broadcast with shocking international news!)" Spoke the reporter on the television screen. "(An event that's sure to engross the world for many years to come)"

"(What? Did the French president finally pull her head out of her ass?)" Asked Nastasia smirking and handing Rodion a bowl of steaming preservatives "(or is it that food companies realized half of their products taste like shit? I can tell you that would be news to me.)"

"(It may seem that the demographic and political swing towards women that they have enjoyed for the past few years may be over already,)" said the reporter with a slightly smug smirk plastered on his face.

"(Seshist pwick,)" Nastasia mumbled with her mouth half full.

"(We go now to Vlad outside of Moscow I.S. center for the full story)"

"(Moscow I.S. center? I just came from there and nothing was happening, well besides girls going home.)" Said Nastasia thoroughly confused.

"(Yes, that's right; I am outside the I.S. center right here in central Moscow where apparently they have just received word on a startling new event in I.S. History,)"

"(Just tell us already!)" Nastasia half yelled at the reporter

"(But first let's give a quick review of the I.S. system to our viewers as some of them might not be familiar with it),"

"(I swear by Stalin's sweaty left testicle…)" Nastasia began before getting cut off by her brother's shushing gesture.

"(The Infinite Stratos, or I.S. for short, was a highly advanced power-exoskeleton built by the Japanese scientist Tabane Shinonono at the peak of the Syrian conflict ten years ago. It was originally designed as a replacement for the outdated spacecraft retiring from service, and would have revolutionized space travel, but mounting tensions between world powers because of the conflict in Syria led to the production and use of the I.S. as a weapon. The world's tone quickly changed however after the 'White Knight' Incident which in turn forced the major powers of the world to sign what is known as the 'Alaska Treaty' which prohibited the use of the I.S. in any militaristic operations outside the realm of self-defense. The I.S. then became a popular sporting tool and was used hold events like the International Mondo Grosso, but the most dominant and 'controversial' feature as some claim, is its mysterious ability to only be powered be women,)"

Nastasia began to chew on her spoon impatiently. (As she had already wolfed down her portion of the food) If there was one thing she absolutely despised, it was people who dragged things out or made unnecessary delays to things in order to make a more 'dramatic' effect. She was a very straightforward girl who liked things short and sweet, exactly opposite of her brother who loved to delve into the depths of something and find all the complex little details. Mind you, she wasn't dense, far from it in fact, but she still much preferred the Idea of having things simplified and practical. And at least her brother helped her out, and made what he was saying useful to her unlike this fat news broadcaster.

"(however we have just received news now that, a young man in japan by the name of Ichika Orimura, younger brother to Mondo Grosso champion Chifuyu Orimura, operated an I.S. earlier this week making him the first ever male I.S. pilot,)" said the reporter proudly

'A male I.S. pilot? Were they joking?' Thought Nastasia incredulously. She spared a glance to her left and there was her brother staring gawk-eyed at the report, taking in every word with beaming eyes. It was the face he made before he started geeking out about 'how this worked' or about 'how that happened'

"(In response to this new development, officials from the Japanese government have refused to disclose Orimura's location until he is transferred to I.S. academy at the beginning of spring term. We were, however, able to bring you an interview with the man himself as aired by national Japanese news.)"

The scene shifted to a story with a fairly unimpressive looking youth nervously shifting around in a chair being asked questions by a group of interviewers on some morning show. Nastasia's eyes visibly twitched at the responses the boy was giving to his interviewers. Telling them that he didn't know where he was or exactly how it worked. From the Interview it was safe to say that the entire incident was accidental, and he was simply being gratified for being in the wrong place at the right time.

And of course he was to be transferred immediately and without question to I.S. Academy where he could begin his training. But from where Nastasia was standing, she could summarize that this kid knew next to nothing about what he was getting into. From his attitude during the interview, he seemed to think he was signing up for some normal school rather than an elite combat training facility. She could believe it but she didn't want to, part of her wanted to just scream at the unfairness of it all.

"(Astounding!)" Her brother nearly shouted out jumping off the couch and inching closer to the TV to where he was nearly nose-tip close. "(I guess it's not some DNA lock like I thought then!)" He ran away from the TV and filled through a makeshift bookshelf Nastasia built for him using old milk crates "(hmm, where was it?)" he swept his finger through a series of biology books before pulling one from it and reading through it, flipping pages like mad trying to find a particular section. "(I originally thought some sort of lock was put on the I.S. System by Tabane to insure male intervention wouldn't be a factor, but this blows that theory to pieces,)" His excitement turned to dismay, and he closed the book with an audible snap "(I need more data, maybe a sample of his DNA or some sort of information on the I.S. Itself but all that...)" his words hung off because of the implication it would have on his sister.

"(Lies with me?)" She finished sadly "(I'm sorry Rodey, but I can't get you to it without an acceptance letter,)"

"(I didn't mean,)" said Rodion extremely disappointed and ashamed of himself "(I wasn't trying to,)"

"(It's okay, I know how much this means to you,)" She said as the last bits of the top story were drawing to a close and the report turned to the weather. It was what they already expected with snowstorms dominating the weekend, "(I just have to make sure that we can get there in the first place, and It's going to cut into my time now that I've got to go out and find a job, which means less time for regular studies too,)" she finished grimly

"(The I.S. Center isn't going to like lowered grades on its application,)" Said Rodey pulling the bed out of the couch for him and Nastasia for the night "(So, how about this; you focus on finding work and I'll try and help out in any way I can, I can do your homework and try and look for some work myself!)"

"(I don't think that's such a good Idea Rodey, you working too.)" Said Nastasia pulling an old worn blanket from the lining closet "(I mean no offense but, your body just isn't made for that kind of thing and you know what mom said before she left to find dad?)"

"(I don't personally, I was only one, remember?)" Said Rodey pulling half of the blanker over him"(but you constantly remind me,"

"she said to protect you and help you succeed, so that she could be proud of us,)" Nastasia kissed her brother on the head as she climbed into bed with him still fully clothed and too tired to worry about anything else. Sleep came quickly and she dreamed of a bright blue sky, she dreamed of wind flowing by like an invisible ocean, she dreamed of birds and planes, she dreamed she was flying.

_So, how do you guys like it? Did my OC's feel real? Did they seem fleshed out? Have any complaints?_

_I know I used current events, but I thought it would be a good addition to the storyline to have. Especially since in the Infinite Stratos manga there's a slide with the American president who looks a really big amount like Obama. Tell me if you thought it looked good and leave a review please._

_As my sister would say, "Give me your unbiased opinion, don't just stroke my ego, but don't outright punch it in the balls either."_


End file.
